OPC Member Peter Turnley Shares Photo Essay: ‘The Human Face of the Exodus from Ukraine’

OPC member Peter Turnley returned from Ukraine earlier this month after photographing the exodus of more than 2.6 million refugees crossing the border into Poland. In an email to the OPC, he said called it the largest exodus in Europe since World War II. In a Facebook post accompanying a group of photos from his journey, Turnely wrote that “I venture to say that no one reading this has ever taken a train ride like the one that thousands of Ukrainians, women and children, made last night from Lviv, Ukraine to the border of Ukraine in Poland, and I hope to God that you never will!”

He had boarded the train bound for Przemysl, Poland in Lvlv at 4:00 p.m., he wrote, and saw hundreds of Ukrainians, “all seats taken with children sitting on laps of mothers, every inch of the car taken with people standing, sitting on the floor, and crowding into all empty space available between the train cars.” He stood for most of the 10-hour journey, he said.

“As the train pulled slowly out of the station, tears began to flow in the eyes of most of the passengers, and people frantically made last minute phone calls to loved ones-with a sense this might be there last call, and eyes looked out of the window to see the last glimpses of a homeland for all, that many knew they might not ever see again.

“I will never be the exactly the same again, after this experience. So many people in this world simply have no idea how lucky they are, and how difficult life can be for others-many. I’ve said enough-and hope my photographs can say things I never could.”

The photos below are used with Turnely’s permission, a selection from his photo essay titled “The Human Face of the Exodus from Ukraine.”

In his email to the OPC, Turnley added that his large lanyard-style press pass from the OPC was “very helpful each time I was asked to show a press pass for access in Ukraine.”